We've heard rumors that Sonos will soon launch a portable speaker with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant support, but it looks like Bose has beaten Sonos to the punch.
The Bose Portable Home Speaker is a portable Bluetooth speaker that you can move around with you in the house or out in the world. There's a handle to make it easy to carry around with your, and it's got 360-degree sound so that everyone can hear it well.
When connected to Wi-Fi, the Bose Portable Home Speaker lets you control it using your voice and either Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. You can also stream music directly from the cloud as well as ask questions, set timers, and control smart home accessories, just like the popular smart speakers on the market. When you're away from Wi-Fi, you can connect your phone over Bluetooth and use it just like any other Bluetooth speaker. Also of note is the included AirPlay 2 support for better playback with Apple devices.
The Bose Portable Home Speaker features a water-resistant design so that you can enjoy some tunes outside without worrying about it getting splashed. There are controls on the top of the unit if you'd like to control your music playback that way, and Bose says that the Portable Home Speaker will get you up to 12 hours of battery life on a single charge. The speaker charges over USB-C or through a $29 charging cradle that's sold separately.
Another notable feature of the Bose Portable Home Speaker is its multi-room functionality. That means you can pair it with another Portable Home Speaker or with the Bose Home Speaker 500, Home Speaker 300, Bose Soundbar 500, or Bose Soundbar 700 and have synchronized audio playing on them.
Finally, the audio tech inside the Bose Portable Home Speaker includes a high-excursion transducer that aims downward into an acoustic deflector to push out sound in every direction. There's also three passive radiators that vibrate the surface area to help produce bass.
The Bose Portable Home Speaker will launch on September 19 for $349. Bose is known for its high-end audio products, and the Portable Home Speaker is another entry in the company's premium speaker line. The ability to have an assistant-powered speaker at home that you can just pick up and take with you outside seems like a pretty great thing, and so if you think so too, you can pick up Bose's Portable Home Speaker next month.
